Linfox grabs a load of WA boom

Private logistics group Linfox has made its single largest property investment in the company’s 55-year history, with the $68 million development of a transport hub in Perth.

The investment is part of a broader strategy to shift investment to high-growth mining regions and Asia following a nine-month review of operations.

Linfox chief executive Michael Byrne said the investment was part of a five-year repositioning strategy signed by the Linfox board and the Fox family in February.

“That will see . . . a repositioning of the business over the next four or five years with an even greater focus on Asia and a bigger focus on Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland," Mr Byrne said.

The strategy marks a solid about-face for the company that founder and transport magnate
Lindsay Fox
began in Melbourne, delivering soft drinks in the summer months and fuel in winter.

Mr Fox built the business on the eastern seaboard of Australia, but the headlights have dimmed in Linfox’s east coast heartland.

“The historical heartland of the business, Victoria and NSW, aren’t going to see the growth levels we have in WA, Northern Territory, Queensland or Asia," he said.

Today Linfox operates more than 3.2 million square metres of warehousing and almost 5000 vehicles across 10 countries.